Rail-joint tie-plate.



No. 734,925. PATENTED JULY 28, 1903 P. W. MOSHBR.

RAIL JOINT TIB PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 2'7, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

r f w} 5 fin A5, 1 06 6 i I /0 p 4' f is] li f' 5 i 1 i 1 1 z W HA I P 4; 4 94.44. WITNESSES WVENTOR (a Clam f 1 J" ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES Patented July 28, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

TO FREDERICK O. CLARK, OF MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN.

RAIL-JOINT TIE-PLATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 734,925, dated July 28, 1903.

application filed March 27, 1903. Serial No.149,854. (No model.)

To (oZZ whom it TitCbZ/ concern:

Be it known that I, PETER \V. MOSHER, residing at Marquette, county of Marquette,

and State of Michigan, (which is my post-office address,) have invented a new and useful Rail-Joint Tie-Plate for Railroad-Beds, by means of which the rails are prevented from sinking into the wooden ties and are held in position thereby, so that the rails cannot IO spread, thus preventing the wheels of locomotives and cars leaving the rails, avoiding wrecks and injury and loss, thereby rendering railroad rapid transit more safe than it nowis by the present facilities in use, of which Is the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object the production of a mechanism to prevent T-rails on a railroad sinking into the wooden ties thereunder and to hold said rails in position as laid, so they cannot spread when heavy railroad-trains pass over them, insuring safety in rapid transit over railroad-lines. By this improved method the steel rails are held firmly in position as laid.

2 My device consists of a steel plate of such width and thickness as desired, with a slot on the upper side of the plate when in position. The slot is cut into the plate downward from the upper side about one-half the thickness of the plate. The ends of the slot slope outward, causing the width of the slot to be wider at the bottom than the top, as shown in the drawings hereto attached, and is of such form and shape that an ordinary T-rail with angle-bars attached at the end may be shoved into the slot from one end,

closely fitting therein, and so that a second rail can be shoved into the said slot from the opposite side thereof and be firmly attached to the other rail by angle-bars, as shown in said drawings, making a strong union of the rails. For the purpose of holding said steel plate in position on the tie there are cast on the under side of the plate solid sloping and 5 pointed lugs located at diagonal positions, asshown by the annexed drawings. These lugs are driven into the tie when putting the plate in position. The plate is also provided with angling holes close to the edge of the slot on each side, through which railroad-spikes are driven into the tie, assisting the lugs in bolding the plate in position. The angle-bars are of the ordinary kind used in connecting steel rails for railroad-track and are fastened to the rail by bolts passing through them and through the rail, as shown in the said drawings.

I claim that when a union between two rails is made by means of angle-bars and in the slot in said plate and when the plates are fastened down to the tie in the manner described the rails will be more firmly held in position than by any other device in use and that it will be impossible for the rail to settle into the tie or the plate under it to do so,- while it is now with the devices in use common for rails to sink into the ties, making themlop over, resulting in wrecks. This is especially so at curves and frogs. This will be obviated by my device and at a very small increase in expense. Further, rails held together in place in said slot, as shown in the drawings, Figure 1, are'firmly locked and cannot spread.

I claim that with the rail-joint in position in said slot if the bolts clamping the anglebars should break the angle-bars would still be held firmly in position in the slot.

I claim that if an angle-bar should break above the slot the rail would still be held firmly in position in the slot and no accident would result. 7 r

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical crosssection of a rail-joint with rail bolted in place in slot in steel plate, showing my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of a rail-joint, showing how rails and angle-bars are held together in slot of tie-plate shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top View of steel plate, showing location of lugs fastening the plate to the tie, also showing spike-holes through which spikes bolt plate to tie; Fig. 4, a flat view of railroad-frog in position in slot on four plates of my invention in the manner shown more specifically by Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a cross-section .of Fig. 4, showing how tie-plate in position holds the rails from spreading. Fig. 6 is a top view of Fig. 4, showing location of-lugs and spikeholes. Fig. 7 shows how with my device a guard-rail is held firmlyin position. Fig. 8 shows how two parallel rails may be held in position by my device, also the manner in which the guard-rail in Fig. 7 is held in position by my device. Fig. 9 shows how the guard-rail is held to the main rail in the center of Fig. 7. Fig. 10 shows the top view of Fig. 8 and how spike-holes are located, holding rails in position. Fig. 11 is a top view of Fig. 9, showing how plate is held in position by lugs and spikes.

A is a steel plate with lugs E and E and spike-holes F and F, with slot, as shown in Figs. 1, 5, 8, and 9.

B and B show two rails provided with angle-bars bolted to the rail and all held firmly together by slot in plate A.

E and E are lugs cast upon the under side of plate A to assist in holding plate A firmly to the tie.

F and F are holes in plate A, through which spikes are driven into the tie, assisting lugs E and E in holding the plate firmly in position upon the tie.

D, G, H, and I in Fig. 2 are bolts similar to D in Fig. 1, holding the angle-bars in position on plate A firmly locked in the slot.

It will be noticed that the eificiency and Value of this device is that it will prevent the spreading of the rails on a railroad-track, either on straight lines, curves, and frogs, great-1y lessening accidents, as in my experience as a section foreman on a railroad I have noticed that many of the accidents are occasioned by the spreading of the rails caused by the settling of the T-rail into the underlying wooden ties. V

This device can be constructed at moderate cost and is an improvement over any other device within my knowledge for holding railroad T-rails on railroad-lines permanently in position as laid, and this device is superior to any other for that purpose now in use within my knowledge.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A rail-joint tie-plate, having on the upper side when in position for use, a slot out into the plate sloping downward from each side about one-half the thickness of the plate, the under side furnished with sharpened steel lugs that enter the tie, 'in connection with ordinary T-rails with angle-bars attached, substantially and for the purpose specified and as described and shown in the drawings attached.

2. A rail-joint tie-plate, provided with a slot, the sides thereof, sloping downward onehalf the thickness of the plate, into which from opposite directions T-rails with anglebar attachments are shoved,and firmly locked in the slot substantially and for the purposes specified and as described and shown in the drawings attached.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.

PETER W. MOSHER.

In presence of F. O. CLARK, BESSIE SNELL, J. N. WILLIAMS. 

